


Puzzle

by Neko_ryn



Series: Ink Prints [5]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bruises, Drinking, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28634469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neko_ryn/pseuds/Neko_ryn
Summary: Kun doesn’t really know what he’s doing with his life. He moved to South Korea on impulse to study his major, but he doesn’t actually know what he’s doing there. He is starting to regret his decision when his soulmate walks into his life in the most unexpected of ways. If only it were that easy...
Relationships: Suh Youngho | Johnny/Qian Kun
Series: Ink Prints [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1091922
Comments: 39
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Finally!! I've missed writing for Ink Prints so so much, and I'm glad I can finally bring another work into this universe. This fic will be updating every Friday!

_ Hello kids~ _

_ My name is Johnny and I’ll be your peer mentor for the next two weeks! In this e-mail you’ll find all of the important schedules that you’ll have as well as a map of the campus. For now, the most important document is the one with the information on how to get the key to your temporary room, it’s the first thing you gotta do when you get here! _

_ On the first day we’ll have two meetings. The first one will be just a general introduction about the University, the campus and all that important business. Then I’ll take you to a tour of the campus. The second meeting we’ll be about the finalization of your transfer process, so it’s very important you assist to that one! _

_ If you have time afterwards and want to, I’d love to take you all out for dinner! Send me a confirmation response please! _

_ Johnny _

* * *

_ Hello Johnny-ssi, _

_ I’m Qian Kun, one of your mentees. This would be my confirmation response. Thanks a lot for the useful information. It’d be a pleasure to have dinner with all of the group. _

_ Kun _

* * *

Kun pushed his suitcase with one hand as he held the map of the campus with the other. He was trying to figure out where the dormitories were so he could get his key and pass out for the night. His flight had been postponed and he had ended up arriving later than planned, which ruined his plans of seeing a little bit of Korea for the day. Now, the only thing he craved was rest.

When he finally figured out how to read the map, he sighed in relief and made his way there. His legs ached. At first because of the somewhat cramped space in the Economy Class of the flight he had taken, but now because he had been walking around like a headless chicken trying to decipher the campus’ map. That tour was certainly going to come in handy.

He folded the map and shoved it in his pocket as he got to the building. The lady behind the desk was quite kind and understanding as she guided him through the registration process, and soon enough he was holding the miraculous key in his free hand. His room was on the second floor, which was ideal because he didn’t want to climb too many stairs while carrying the suitcase.

The room was a decent size and it had two beds on opposite sides. He knew he would need to share rooms once the classes started, but for now, he was grateful to have it for himself. Kun chose the bed further away from the door and sat on it, laying down the suitcase to begin pulling stuff out. He was tired, but his future self would be grateful to him if he didn’t have to struggle looking for clothes the next day.

Once he had put everything away, Kun flopped on the bed and took out his cellphone. He had bought a plan just so he could use it in Korea during his stay, but he would probably have to change numbers until he finished his studies. He had a couple of messages from his fathers and some friends, but decided to answer them later. He was still a little bit surprised he was actually going through with his decision to study in Korea.

He didn’t have an actual reason to do it. He had made the decision unprompted and just gone through with it, and now he was only a couple months away from starting his universitary studies in Korea. His fathers had been very supportive of him, like they had always been, but it still surprised him a little bit that they had just let him go to a whole other country. Still, Kun was sort of glad with his decision, if only because it made him excited.

He raised his arm and looked at the horse pacing on his skin. It was really big, even for a soulmate tattoo, and from what Kun had researched, he knew it was a Clydesdale. Whenever it was on his hand, it covered more than half of the back, and it made him feel somewhat small. It was funny though, because his fathers usually told him his soulmate must be someone really tall, even though the tattoos weren’t actually tied to the physical aspect of the person.

Kun sometimes wondered what the animal that represented him was. But more than that, he wondered if he would ever find his soulmate at all. He knew it was difficult to find your soulmates and that a lot of people were happy even when they never got to meet them. Still, he was allowed to hope. Maybe that was the reason he had left China in the first place. He sighed and turned around, falling asleep shortly after.

* * *

The next morning, he woke up with enough time to get ready and have breakfast. The problem was that he didn’t have food nor did he know where the nearest convenience store or cafeteria was. Fortunately, he had packed protein bars for such occasions. He opened one and shoved two more in his pockets before picking up his backpack and heading out, map in one hand and protein bar in the other.

His backpack had nothing but a notebook, a couple of pens, and his cellphone’s charger. Honestly, he didn’t even think he would need to take that many notes to begin with, and felt silly for bringing such a big backpack with him. It was a little too late to be second-guessing his outfit, so he just followed the map to the best of his abilities to the auditorium where they would be introduced to the university.

Kun finished his protein bar and shoved the plastic wrapper in his backpack before entering the auditorium. There were already people there. A kind senior student gave him a folder containing notes with what they were seeing that day, before directing him towards the seats. Kun walked down the aisle and sat down, keeping a certain distance from the other foreigner students waiting for the meeting to start. He still didn’t feel quite ready to make friends.

Little by little, the auditorium filled until the clock marked the time for the meeting. Kun took out his pens and made his own notes over the papers he had been given. The peer mentors told them a little bit of history about the university and explained to them how each department was divided. Kun paid close attention to everything, while simultaneously wondering which of those students was ‘Johnny’.

He had liked the first impression he had formed of his peer mentor through the email. He seemed kind and helpful. As far as Kun knew, most peer mentors were also foreigner students that had been new to the university at some point, just like them. Johnny was, according to his limited knowledge, an English name, so he wondered if his peer mentor came from England or maybe America.

“Now, let’s go through a quick overview of the campus’ map, and then your peer mentors can take you on a tour!” The student at the front said, as the presentation changed to a slide with a map of the university.

Kun compared it to his own map which he had been using so far, but it wasn’t of much help, as he had truly no idea how to even locate himself in the map. The tour would surely be helpful. The meeting came to an end shortly after, and the mentors pulled out papers with their names printed on them. Finding Johnny was easy enough.

His mentor was a tall man. His hair was long and bleached, half of it held back in a little bun. He was holding his sign high and moving it around with a silly smile on his face. Kun couldn’t help but smile, although he tried to suppress it as he walked towards him. From close up, Johnny was even taller, but his smile made him approachable.

“I think this is all of you,” Johnny said with a smile, as he folded the paper and put it back in his pocket. “My name’s John Seo, but please don’t call me John, it makes me feel old. You can also call me Youngho, as that is my Korean name. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable!”

As it turned out, three out of his four new colleagues were also Chinese, which immediately made him feel more comfortable. Junhui and Yanan were both taller than him, but the first one looked like he was up for mischief and the second one had a very nice smile. Handong looked like you didn’t want to mess with her, but she turned out to be quite funny and nice. Alexandra (or Alex, as she had asked them to call her) was very friendly and immediately bonded with Johnny over coming from America.

Johnny turned out to be an excellent guide. He let them know where the most important markers were and how to use them as guides to get to their destinations. The campus was really big, and they ended up only looking at the main buildings. By the end of the three hour tour, Kun was exhausted and famished. Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one, so Johnny took them to his favorite cafeteria on campus.

“Personally this is my favorite place to eat on campus,” he explained as they all picked something from the menu. “But you can always eat outside if you find time to come and go, there’s plenty of stuff around here.”

“Johnny-ssi-” Kun began, but he was quickly stopped.

“Hyung, please,” Johnny said with a smile. “What is it?”

“Johnny-hyung…” The word felt weird on his tongue since he didn’t actually know Johnny that well, but the oldest seemed content with his effort, so he was willing to let it slide. “Is it true that there’s going to be a treasure hunt?”

“A treasure hunt?” Junhui immediately piped in, eyes open wide.

“Ohh yeah.” Johnny clicked his tongue. “Spoiler alert, it’s quite hard.”

They followed him to a table. Kun sat in front of him, so it would be easier to ask him questions and listen to him without having to turn around. Johnny prompted them to eat their lunch while he explained a little bit more about the treasure hunt. The first bite tasted like glory to Kun, although he wasn’t certain if it was because of his hunger or because the food there was as good as Johnny had bragged it was. 

“There’s prizes, mostly things that will be useful for your stay here. It can range all the way from supplies to food coupons which, honestly, can be life savers.” Johnny took turns to talk and eat, trying not to leave details out. “But it is pretty hard, since the campus is so big.”

“We should team up!” Alex suggested, and the rest nodded.

“Is it obligatory?” Handong asked, leaning closer.

“Oh no-” Johnny shook his head- “none of the activities are obligatory, they’re simple recommendations.”

“Will you participate in the treasure hunt?” Kun asked.

“Well, technically I can’t,” he said, after swallowing a bite of his meal, “but I will help prepare it.” Johnny winked knowingly, and Kun found himself needing to look away.

Johnny was very friendly, and very confident. Which he had a right to be, because he was also very attractive, but that only made Kun feel more flustered and awkward. It wasn’t that Kun didn’t have self-confidence, because he did… just not as much as Johnny. He just hoped he would be able to overcome it soon, because Johnny was going to be his mentor for two whole weeks.

“Right.” Johnny pulled his cellphone out of the bag and passed it to Yanan on his side. “Please put your Kakao account, it’ll be easier to talk through there than through emails.” Yanan sent himself a friend request and then passed it to Alexa. “Also, I would like to invite you all for dinner tonight, it’s on me. I’ll text you the details.”

Once they were done eating, the five of them returned to the meeting room while Johnny stayed behind to do some other stuff. This time, Kun did sit next to his new friends, finding it a bit more comfortable. Soon enough they were all added to a chatroom by Johnny, and Kun used the opportunity to add them all as friends.

This meeting was a lot more tedious, as it was packed with important information. Kun could barely take notes fast enough in Korean, so they ended up a mix of Korean and Chinese that probably only he could understand. It didn’t matter as long as he was able to use them for their intended purpose. 

After the meeting, they went their separate ways, as they all wanted to use their free time differently. Kun simply went back to his dorm, thinking that he should ask Johnny for some places to visit over dinner. He kind of knew where he wanted to go, but getting the opinion of someone with more experience than him seemed like a better idea. Just as he was thinking of that, Johnny sent a message to their chatroom.

**Johnny-hyung:** meet me outside the dorms at 8-ish   
**Johnny-hyung:** dinner’s on me!

Kun programmed an alarm and then flopped on his bed to take a nap. He was exhausted and it took him no time to fall asleep. He barely heard the alarm when it sounded, and woke up with a start. He managed to fix his hair and rinse his mouth before storming off to the dorm’s reception. Despite waking up right on time, he was still the first one to make it besides Johnny, who smiled brightly upon his arrival.

“For a moment I thought you’d stand me up!” He said as a form of greeting. Kun bowed slightly, apologetically. “Don’t worry about it, the others said they’re on their way here. It seems like they had a busy afternoon.”

It took about ten minutes for everyone to get there, then Johnny called cabs for them and off they went. He took them to a grill house, and as soon as the smell of grilling meat reached them, they all felt hungry. A waiter took them to the table Johnny had reserved, and they all sat promptly, eager to eat.

When the meat arrived and Johnny began grilling it, Kun immediately offered to help. At least it was something he could do, and it made him feel better to have some sort of control over the situation. Everything felt so foreigner to him, which was kind of ironic when he was in a group full of other foreigners.

“Ohh!” Johnny exclaimed in admiration. “It seems like our Kun is good at grilling meat!”

Alex let out a cheer as Kun placed a handful of juicy pieces of meat on her place. Junhui tried to steal from her, but she protected her plate fiercely. Kun chuckled and served Junhui next, to avoid a war from starting at their table.

“It’s nothing, I just like cooking.” Kun smiled, feeling warm at the compliment.

“Really now.” Johnny smiled, taking care of his own side of the grill. Kun glanced at him briefly, but looked away once he discovered Johnny was looking at him.

Once everyone had meat on their plates, Johnny grabbed his glass and raised it to the center. The others followed him, glancing curiously at him.

“I want to propose a cheer for all of you,” he explained. “May your first year at the university be successful!”

“Cheers!” They all exclaimed in unison, clinking their glasses and then drinking for them.

Kun glanced at Johnny briefly, and the oldest smiled at him, reassuringly. He felt his shoulders relax as he took another sip of his drink before going back to grilling meat. Maybe he would be able to find himself in this unfamiliar place after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kun had spent the whole night second guessing himself, wondering if he had actually made the right choice of coming to Korea. All the certainty and security he had felt during dinner with his group had vanished as soon as he had been left alone with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the second chapter for Puzzle! I'm very excited to update this, because I love Ink Prints so much, and honestly I wish I could tell you about all the Ink Prints stuff I have planned for the future, but it would take too long. If you want to know more, follow me on Tumblr @not-majestic-bluenicorn! And please remember to leave a kudo and a comment if you like this story <3

Kun took notes of everything he was hearing, but his heart wasn’t really there. He had slept terribly the night before, and the bed had felt unfamiliar under his back. He had spent the whole night second guessing himself, wondering if he had actually made the right choice of coming to Korea. All the certainty and security he had felt during dinner with his group had vanished as soon as he had been left alone with his thoughts.

This conference was about the grading system. It was quite different to what he knew, so he was doing his best to take notes of everything. However, a quick look at his notebook revealed a mess of scribbles and smudges. So much for trying to copy the presenter’s every word. He sighed and closed the notebook. He would try to ask Handong for her notes later, as she seemed to be the most responsible one, and if that failed, then he would try to ask Johnny for the presentation. 

He propped his head on one hand and watched the rest of the presentation without listening. His eyes burned with the lack of sleep, and he told himself that he would get a nap as soon as they got free time. It was a bit disappointing, though, because it seemed like he was just going to miss another day in Seoul due to his recklessness. Not that he wouldn’t have enough time to explore once he moved there with the start of the semester.

“And now, we’ll present the big event for the day!”

Kun perked up, recognizing the familiar voice. Johnny was standing at the front, holding something in his hands. He unfolded a little white flag with the Seoul National University’s crest and raised it over his head, so everyone could look at it properly. Kun put his hand down and paid close attention, he was very interested in those prizes Johnny had mentioned before. He was most definitely not the only one though, because even the students that had looked bored to death before were sitting on the edge of their seats.

“Yesterday, your peer mentors gave you a tour of the campus,” he explained. “We hid around a hundred of these flags around the central area of the campus. You have an hour to look for them. Once the hour is up, you’ll get prizes according to how many flags you got!”

Handong raised her hand in front of him.

“Is there a way to get hints? The central area is pretty big…” She asked as she put her hand down.

“There will be peer mentors all around,” Johnny smiled, putting the flag away in his pocket. “To get a hint, you must do something they tell you to do, simple as that. Any other questions?” 

The room was silent. All the foreigner students looked at each other and tried to determine who represented a bigger threat. Kun caught Handong’s competitive glare and swallowed hard. He suddenly didn’t feel like getting those prizes was all that important.

“Well then-” Johnny checked his watch- “you can start now!”

* * *

The mentors accompanied all of them to the central area before distributing themselves and leaving them to their own devices. A whistle let them know they could begin. Kun observed as some of the other students ran full speed away from the ‘start line’ and began searching. He was far more hesitant. The sunlight made his head hurt since he had barely slept, so he covered his eyes with one hand and began searching.

He did want the prizes, but he was nowhere near as competitive as the rest. More than anything, he wanted to go back to his dorm to sleep and pretend he was not second guessing his decision of coming there. Still, he never half-assed anything, so he dirtied his hands as he searched among bushes and trees. At some point, he found Junhui sleeping beneath a tree. He at first thought it was a dead body, so he let out an unflattering scream before falling on his butt.

“ _ You could have woken me up more gently _ ,” Junhui muttered in their mother tongue after seeing who it was.

“ _ Why are you sleeping here of all places? _ ” Kun grumbled, letting out a huff.

“ _ I gave up on the treasure hunt, _ ” he closed his eyes again and put a hand on top of them.

“ _ Huh _ ,” Kun nodded. “ _ Do you perhaps have any flags? _ ”

“ _ You’re too late, already gave them to Yanan, _ ” Junhui smiled a little. Kun sighed.

“ _ Unfortunate, _ ” Kun shrugged and stood up. “ _ I’m going back to searching. _ ”

“ _ Don’t hurt yourself, pretty boy _ ,” Junhui nodded.

Kun left to continue searching. He made it to seven flags before giving up and sitting down on a bench. Kun closed his eyes and rubbed circles on them, gently, regretting all of the decisions that had brought him to that moment.

“Giving up already?” Kun opened his eyes to find Johnny sitting next to him.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “I refuse to continue putting myself through this torture. It’s too hot.”

“Understandable,” Johnny nodded. “How many flags do you have?”

Kun pulled out the handful of fabric and counted the flags.

“If you get three more, you can get a coupon book for all sorts of meals.” Johnny grabbed the flags, folding them neatly and returning them to him. “There’s still plenty of flags out there.”

He looked at Johnny with a carefully blank expression. He was interested in the coupons, because he doubted he would have much time to cook for himself once the classes started. However, he also knew that Johnny was just trying to get him to do something. He sat straight and nodded. He could do three more flags and then get himself back to the dorms. 

“What do you want me to do, Johnny-ssi?” Johnny clicked his tongue and gave him a reprobatory look.

“Hyung, I’m your hyung.” Johnny corrected him, and Kun nodded, a bit embarrassed.

“What do you want me to do, hyung?” Kun repeated the question, trying not to react at Johnny’s satisfied smile. It was kind of cute.

“Hmm,” Johnny seemed to consider it for a moment. “What do you think of ten push-ups?”

“I value myself more than those coupons.” Kun shook his head. There was no way he was doing ten push-ups in that weather.

“Okay, then why don’t you show me your talent?” Johnny chuckled, giving in easily.

Kun thought it over for a second before he began singing. It was a Chinese ballad, because he didn’t really know any songs in Korean well enough to sing them with confidence. He was far more confident in his cooking, but it was not like he could suddenly materialize a kitchen anyway. He sang without looking at Johnny, a bit embarrassed about having an audience. But once he was done, he looked up. Johnny was looking at him with his mouth open and stars in his eyes. He looked away.

“What major are you in?” There was unspoken praise in his voice, and it made him feel embarrassed.

“Business?” Kun’s voice sounded all wrong in his own ears.

“With that voice?” Johnny shook his head.

“I can always do a second major.” Kun shrugged, still unable to look at Johnny.

“There’s still a bunch of flags by the fountain,” Johnny replied instead. Kun turned to look at him and smiled brightly.

“Thanks hyung!”

* * *

Kun dropped the coupon book on top of his suitcase and plopped on his bed. He was exhausted, but at least he had found the flags where Johnny had told him. As soon as he had gathered the ten flags, he had sat down to wait for the hour to be over. He had stopped caring about the flags right after singing. He was so embarrassed, actually. Not of his singing, because he was quite confident in it, but of Johnny’s reaction.

The oldest had been so earnest in his reaction, which clashed with his lack of ability to take compliments. It had made him feel a little good, though. But it was still very embarrassing and he just wanted to hide under his blankets and pretend it hadn’t happened. He did as much, and soon enough he had fallen deeply asleep.

The constant vibrations of his cellphone woke him up a couple hours later. Kun groaned, patting around his bed until he found the damned device. Someone was calling him, but he couldn’t open his eyes enough to see who it was, so he simply answered and hoped it was not a scam call. Were scam calls common in South Korea?

“Hello?” His voice was groggy with sleep.

“Morning, sleeping beauty.” Kun had to hold back a groan when he heard Johnny’s voice at the other end of the line, simultaneously holding the urge to hide deeper into his sheets. He pulled the phone away to check the time.

“It’s almost ten.” He sat up on his bed and yawned. “And I’m not a princess.”

“Sorry,” Johnny chuckled, and Kun could perfectly visualize his smile in front of his face. “Would you like to come to a party?”

“A party?” Kun stepped off his bed and went to turn on the lights.

“I sent a bunch of messages on Kakao but the others already said they had plans and you weren’t replying,” Johnny explained as Kun put him on speaker and opened the chat. There were certainly a lot of messages there.

“So you decided to call me?” Kun raised an eyebrow, not understanding the connection.

“You slept the afternoon away, I’m worried you’re missing out on city life.”

“Are you supposed to do this as a peer mentor?” Kun still didn’t think that was related to anything.

“If not, then I’m doing it as a friend,” Johnny cleared his throat.

“Oh,” Kun was genuinely surprised. A pleasant warm settled on his stomach.

“Will you come?” Johnny asked again. Kun nodded, although it was mostly to himself, since the other couldn’t see him.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

* * *

The taxi dropped him in front of a house. He could feel the thrumming of the music as he walked closer to the door. It made him a little nervous to be in a party full of strangers. On the door, there was a sign telling him to go to the back and enter through the backyard. The house was pretty big, and Kun figured this person probably had money, which only made him more nervous.

There were a lot of people at the party. Before he could even retreat, one of the seniors spotted him and pulled him inside by the arm. He was suddenly well aware of the hoodie and jeans combo he was wearing, because he hadn’t even thought of changing before leaving the dorms. It didn’t take long to find Johnny, who was towering over almost everyone else there.

“You did come!” Johnny exclaimed, smiling openly at him. Kun nodded, a bit embarrassed.

“You asked me to,” Kun shrugged, “as a friend.” He didn’t know why he felt the need to specify that, but he did anyway. Johnny nodded and someone else pushed a glass into his hand.

“Don’t drink that if you don’t want to have a hangover tomorrow,” Johnny scrunched his nose. “Jeonghan really likes drinking heavily.”

“Oh, okay.” Kun left the cup on the first table he found, and then followed Johnny around the backyard.

“These are all people from the university, most are from my year though, sorry for that.” Johnny smiled sheepishly, taking a sip from his own glass.

“It’s okay,” Kun shrugged it off. “It’s better if I get to know people before the semester starts anyway.”

“You’re sounding like a businessman already,” Johnny teased. “Relax a little.”

“Still clung to my career choice?” Kun frowned, crossing his arms.

“Sorry, sorry,” Johnny raised his arms in defeat. “I just really think your singing voice is really pretty.”

“Thank you,” Kun said a little begrudgingly, convincing himself that the blush on his face was out of annoyance and not embarrassment. 

“Ah, here, meet the host of the party.” Johnny guided him towards a group of people that were standing close to the sliding doors that went into the house. A man in the center of it was waving at them.

“Youngho! Who’s your friend?” The cheerful man asked, putting his glass aside and approaching them.

“This is Kun, my… protegee?” Johnny looked at Kun, who was frowning at him. “I was assigned as his mentor.” He explained.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jeonghan!” He put a hand forward and Kun took it. “Feel free to take anything you need. Bathroom is inside, first door to the right.”

“Is this your house?” Kun looked around. “It’s really… big.” Johnny snickered next to him, and Jeonghan laughed too.

“It’s my family’s house, yeah.” Jeonghan smiled. “I’m in the same year as Johnny, and I’m a business major.”

“Really?” Kun opened his eyes wide. Jeonghan was not what he had expected other business majors to be like. Johnny smiled knowingly next to him, and Kun kind of wished he wasn’t looking at him while smiling like that. “I am too.”

“Nice!” Jeonghan grinned widely and wrapped an arm around Kun, who immediately looked at Johnny for help. “Feel free to ask for help if you need it!”

“Jeonghan, please.” Johnny laughed. “Let the poor man go, you just met him.”

“My bad.” Jeonghan snatched his arms away. “I might be a little bit drunk.”

“It’s okay.” Kun shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, though, I’ll make sure to ask if I need help.”

“I’ll return to my soulmate before he gets whiny,” Jeonghan smiled, “enjoy the party! Oh, and Jisoo is by the pool!”

Jeonghan went back to the circle of his friends. Kun observed with curiosity as another, slightly taller man wrapped his arms around Jeonghan’s waist and made an upset face. Jeonghan laughed and patted him on the back, convincing him to let go of him. Kun thought it must have been nice to have already met your soulmate. He sighed and followed Johnny to the pool.

“Who is Jisoo?” Kun asked, a bit curious as to why Jeonghan would have mentioned him.

“Oh, that’s Jeonghan’s boyfriend,” Johnny explained, “he is also from the US, although he’s lived here longer. But he was part of the committee for foreign students and we became good friends.”

“If he’s Jeonghan’s boyfriend, then what about the man over there with Jeonghan?” Kun asked, visibly scandalized.

“Oh, that’s Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Jisoo’s soulmate.” Johnny’s smile grew as did the confusion in Kun’s face. “Ask them about it later, I’m sure they’ll love to tell you the story.”

They had already arrived at the pool. There were some people in there playing volleyball. Kun looked at them without paying attention, thinking of what Johnny had told him about Jeonghan, Jisoo and Seungcheol. He turned around to ask Johnny a question but his stomach dropped as he lost his footing and fell backwards. He saw in slow motion how Johnny reached to stop his fall, grabbing his hands. Right before the two of them fell into the water, he managed to see a red panda jumping onto the Clydesdale’s back.


	3. Chapter 3

Kun had always been an independent child. It was not that he didn’t want to be surrounded by people, but he didn’t need to be. His dad worked long shifts and was almost never home, and his father had to take care of the home and the little store they ran as a business. Because of this, he had learned to take care of himself pretty early on. 

Among the many things he did for himself, he had learned to ride the bicycle once he started elementary school. The school was only a short ride away, so every morning he woke up by himself, ate the breakfast his father had prepared, got ready for school, and then left on his bicycle. After classes, he returned on his bicycle and did his homework next to the door that led to the store, just in case his father needed help.

The day he got his soulmate marks, he was pedaling back home. Before he could break, a puppy ran in front of his bicycle and he had to take a sharp turn to his right. He fell, scratching his right arm and leg. The puppy whimpered and ran away back to its owner, a little girl that looked even younger than he did. Kun assured her he was alright and continued pedaling home. The pain made tears spring up in his eyes.

When he got home, he put the bicycle away and sat on the little table to do his homework. The scratches hurt a lot, and his younger self couldn’t help but cry, but he kept it as quiet as possible so as to not bother his father. He was halfway through his homework when his father called him, asking for help. He left everything he was doing and went to the store, rubbing the tears off his eyes.

“Kun, help me arrange the products on the shelves-” his father’s voice cut off once he looked at him.

He immediately dropped everything in his hands and rushed towards Kun, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his face. He wiped the tears off before grabbing his arm and looking at the scratches and cuts. He clicked her tongue softly and pulled Kun towards the chair behind the counter. He told him to sit there and then went into the house to look for the first aid kit. When he returned he began tending to his wounds.

“How could you go do homework like this, hm?” He muttered as he cleaned the wounds with lukewarm water and a clean cotton cloth. Kun sniffled.

“I didn’t want to bother you,” he muttered.

“You’re my son, you could never be a bother,” his father reprimanded him lightly. 

“But you’re busy,” he fidgeted on the seat, feeling slightly ashamed. His father’s eyes softened, and he grabbed Kun’s hand.

“I will never be too busy for you, never.” He kissed the back of his hand, and there was an explosion of black and light brown on his skin.

They both observed as the black foal ran over his arm, followed by a very small ball of fluff that seemed to be some kind bird. Kun looked up and saw his father’s bright smile. He smiled as well, having already forgotten about the pain on his right side.

“I love you, my child,” his father said, kissing his forehead.

“I love you too,” he replied, looking at his new soulmate marks with wonder in his eyes.

* * *

Kun opened his eyes in the water and then swam to the surface and towards the edge of the pool. He coughed before taking deep breaths. The water was lukewarm, thankfully, but now he was drenched and he didn’t know how he was going to get back to the dorms. More important than that…

Johnny emerged next to him and leaned on the edge. He pushed his long hair back, wiping the water from his face. Kun stared at him, confused, thinking maybe he had imagined what he had seen before. But Johnny stared back, and the look of doubt in his face told him they had both seen the same thing. They just had to confirm if it was real.

He hesitated for a second before extending his hand. Johnny also hesitated, unsure. Kun’s heart was beating fast, a mix of adrenaline from the fall and nervousness for the revelation. He wondered what was going inside Johnny’s head, but to be fair, he couldn’t even make out his own thoughts. For the most part, he was afraid Johnny wouldn’t take his hand.

“Did you see it too?” Johnny asked, staring at his hand but not moving. He could see the silhouette of the horse on Kun’s elbow.

“I think I saw  _ something _ , but there’s only one way to find out.” Kun shook his hand, urging him to take it.

Johnny finally grabbed his hand, and the reaction was instantaneous. Kun observed the red panda scutter down Johnny’s arm and meet the horse in the middle. The horse was  _ enormous _ compared to the little panda, and it made for a fun scene once they met on their fingers. They both stared in complete awe. Out of all the expectations Kun had had for Korea, finding his soulmate had not been one of them (even if, at some point, he had hoped it would happen).

“Oh my god!” Someone yelled next to them. Johnny looked to the side and immediately retrieved his hand, turning red on the face. “Johnny you have a soulmate and you didn’t tell me?!”

Kun stared at his empty hand in stunned silence before looking to his side. Jeonghan was staring at them and he looked mad. It was not Johnny’s fault. Neither of them had known, and they had literally met the day before. They had met maybe a good 30 hours ago and they were  _ soulmates _ and maybe Kun was panicking a little bit. Johnny gestured in defeat and then shrugged.

“Can you get us some towels first?” 

* * *

They sat on plastic chairs opposite to each other. Kun had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, but it was doing little to actually dry him up. The night was warm, but the air still felt cold against his skin. Jeonghan returned with smaller towels and gave each of them one so they could dry their hair. Kun grabbed his and ruffled his hair with force, hoping it would get some sense back into him. Their host just stood there with arms crossed.

“Johnny, there’s no way anything I have can fit you, sorry man.” He turned to look at Kun, who kept rubbing his hair with force. “Stop that, you’ll end up bald.” Kun stopped and let the towel rest on his head. “I think I have something that’ll fit you, so come inside once you’re done talking about…” He gestured vaguely and then left them.

Kun could feel Johnny’s eyes boring into him, but he couldn’t look up. He didn’t know where all the confidence he had used while asking him to take his hand had gone. He couldn’t even begin to process that they were actually soulmates. They had met the day before, what were they even supposed to do with this knowledge?

“So…” Johnny began, but Kun put a hand up.

“No, don’t do this.” He stopped him right away.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Johnny frowned, taken aback.

“We’re not going to talk about  _ this _ in the middle of a party full of drunk people,” Kun crossed his arms. “Besides, you were drinking too, I refuse.”

“Oh believe me,” Johnny scoffed, “I’m very sober right now.”

“Still, no-” Kun took in a sharp breath. His expression softened, as did his voice. “I really don’t think I can deal with this right now, and not in this state.”

“Oh…” Johnny nodded, understanding. “Okay, then… Why don’t you go out with me tomorrow after the meetings?”

“Like, on a date?” Kun’s voice raised half an octave, and Johnny shook his hands quickly.

“No! I mean-” He took a deep breath. “It doesn’t have to  _ be _ a date. Let’s just- Let’s just talk?”

“Okay,” Kun nodded, relaxing a little on his seat. He willed his heart to calm down as he tried to process why on Earth he had decided to come to Korea in the first place. He told himself it would be alright, but one look at Johnny let him know he was wrong.

* * *

The next day, Johnny stood in front of Kun’s door, debating on if he should knock. He had sent a message to Kun explaining that he would pick him up so he wouldn’t get lost. The plan was very simple. Johnny would take him for a cup of coffee and they would talk and that would be it. There was no need to worry about anything. But he  _ was _ worried. The whole event had been kind of sudden, and he wasn’t sure what impression he had left on Kun.

Kun was objectively handsome (although Johnny hadn’t actually asked anyone else what they thought of Kun, and maybe that was just his subjective opinion after all, either way…). He had a soft edge about him that Johnny found attractive even before discovering they were soulmates. And he also had a really pretty voice. He had already thought of asking him out before, but this discovery complicated absolutely everything.

Of course, being soulmates didn’t mean they  _ had _ to be together, but it did make things harder when Johnny had already been thinking about it. Because then it meant it was too serious, and maybe Kun didn’t want anything serious. Maybe Kun was only interested in platonic relationships. Maybe Kun had come to Korea to run away from the possibility of finding his soulmate in China and now Johnny had ruined that. Maybe Johnny was panicking a bit too much.

They were there to talk things between them, and all he was doing was make empty presuppositions that had no basis on reality. He needed to knock the door and take Kun out for coffee.  _ One step at the time _ , he thought to himself. If he built his own tragic romance in his head, nothing would ever get done. Soulmarks didn’t mean instant love, they were just the possibility of something blossoming. Everything would be alright.

He raised his hand to knock on the door, but it opened before he could even touch it. Kun stared at him with visible confusion, and Johnny put his arm down. He was a bit flustered. Johnny stepped back and let Kun out of his room. He was wearing tight fitted jeans, a white t-shirt, his hair was pushed back, and Johnny was losing a little bit of his sanity. He was not going to let that show though.

“Ready to go?” He asked, out of courtesy more than anything else. Kun nodded.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Kun smiled, and it helped him relax.

They took the bus to the cafe that Johnny had chosen as their non-date place. They talked a lot during the trip, a mix of their personal lives and fun facts about Seoul. They both turned out to be only sons. Johnny learned about what Kun’s fathers did for a living and how Kun missed helping out in the shop. Johnny told him about how much he missed his mother. Despite the nostalgia, the conversation brought them closer.

Johnny had already forgotten they were actually there to talk about serious stuff until they stepped into the cafe. He offered to order for Kun, and asked him to find a seat instead. The waiting in line gave him some time to figure out how they were going to talk about it. They knew a little bit more about each other now, and Kun was just so enthusiastic about being out there with him that it kind of gave him hope they would make things work. At the very least, he had faith they could start as friends.

He waited for the drinks next to the counter so he didn’t have to sit awkwardly in front of Kun with nothing to sip on. Once they were in his hands, he made a beeline to their table. Kun had chosen a table next to a window. He was looking outside when Johnny arrived and set their drinks on the table. Kun smiled at him and muttered a quick thank you before taking a sip of his drink. He let out a content sigh and Johnny drank from his too.

“So,” Kun cleared his throat. He was looking at his beverage, but Johnny couldn’t stop staring at him, even while sipping on his drink. “Should we talk about what happened last night?”

“Still straight to the point,” Johnny nodded, although he was smiling. He liked that Kun was straightforward. “Okay.”

“We’re soulmates.” It was a statement. And while it was no surprise to either of them, it still felt kind of shocking to say it out loud. And embarrassing, that too.

“That we are,” Johnny nodded. “How do you… feel about it?”

“I’m… Surprisingly okay, actually.” Kun took another sip of his drink. Johnny’s eyes were weighing him down, but he didn’t know how to tell him to stop staring. “I’m kind of shocked though. I did think about what if I found my soulmate when I came here, but I didn't think it would actually happen, so…”

_ That’s cute _ , Johnny thought. Except it wasn’t a thought at all, because Kun turned to look at him with an evident blush on his face.

“Oh god I said that outloud,” Johnny laughed, blushing himself and finally looking away. “I’m gonna be very honest with you: I was already a bit interested in you before realizing we were soulmates.”

“Oh,” Kun’s eyes widened. “Why?”

“Don’t say it like it’s an insult to like you!” Johnny reprimanded him. “You’re good looking, you caught my eye, I don’t know what you want me to tell you.” Johnny shrugged, realizing he didn’t know what to say.

“This is awkward…” Despite that, Kun was smiling as he grabbed his drink and took a long sip.

“It is…” Johnny agreed.

“You’re also good looking yourself, you know?” Kun muttered, causing Johnny to choke on his drink. He coughed violently, and Kun looked at him apologetically.

“Do you want to…” Johnny couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. He was still afraid of what Kun thought.

“Try?” Kun supplied for him. He was smiling, and that set Johnny’s heart off. “Yeah, actually. I think that would be nice.”

“Okay, yeah.” Johnny nodded. They looked at each other and then laughed together. Things would work out.

* * *

Johnny closed the door to his bedroom and let his head hit the door softly. Nothing was going to work out. The non-date with Kun (although perhaps he should start calling it a date, since they had agreed to try) had gone spectacularly well. After the cafe, they had gone window shopping, and it had been a marvelous opportunity to learn more about each other. However, something had been bothering him the whole time.

He sat in front of the small mirror he had in his dorm room and lifted his shirt. There was a small, grey bunny resting on his ribs. The fact was that he had another soulmate other than Kun. That was always an iffy subject. Not because it was considered a bad thing, but there was always the issue of not sharing the same marks. If Kun didn’t have the same bunny mark as him, then how would that affect their budding relationship?

He had wanted to tell Kun about the mark while they were at the cafe. If things were going to work, it was important to be honest and transparent about everything. However, his nerves and the fluttery feeling in his stomach had gotten the best out of him, and he had not been able to confess anything. He regretted it deeply, though, because no other situation would have been as good as that one. Without thinking it twice, he decided to call Jisoo and ask for help.

“ _ Hello? _ ” Jisoo’s English immediately made him think of home, and it brought him both comfort and nostalgia.

“ _ I fucked up _ ,” Johnny groaned into the phone.

“ _ Already? Didn’t you meet him two days ago? _ ” Jisoo’s voice sounded genuinely surprised, which hurt his pride a little bit.

“ _ What do you mean already? _ ” He whined. “ _ Were you expecting me to fuck up? _ ”

“ _ A little, yeah, _ ” Johnny could picture Jisoo shrugging on the other side of the line, and it made him frown.

“ _ Rude _ ,” Johnny huffed.

“ _ Will you tell me what happened? _ ” Jisoo chuckled.

“ _ You know how I have two marks?” _ Johnny plopped on his bed, cell phone in hand.

“ _ Let me guess, you told him and it scared him away? _ ” Jisoo’s voice was as calm as always, and Johnny couldn’t tell if he was serious.

“ _ I didn’t tell him… _ ” Johnny muttered.

“ _ Oh… _ ” There was a short silence. “ _ Yeah, I guess that does count as fucking up _ .”

“ _ I should tell him, shouldn’t I? _ ” He sighed, closing his eyes.

“ _ Definitely, but I understand why you don’t want to. _ ” Jisoo’s voice softened even more if it was possible.

“ _ How did you make your relationship work? _ ”

“ _ Well the thing is, Jeonghan and I were already pretty attached,”  _ Johnny could hear the fondness in Jisoo’s voice, and it made him smile despite himself. “ _ It really was just a matter of convincing Seungcheol we weren’t going to burn his life down if he let us in _ ”

“ _ It sure was _ ,” Johnny sighed. “ _ It’ll be alright, right? _ ”

“ _ I’m sure you’ll work it out, _ ” Jisoo affirmed. “ _ Maybe he has the other mark too. Don’t worry too much _ .”

Despite the advice though, Johnny could do nothing but worry as he went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey,” Johnny said, snapping Kun’s attention back. “Can I ask you a weird question?”
> 
> “Uh,” Kun frowned a little, “sure?”
> 
> “Can I like…” Johnny cleared his throat, “hold your hand for a moment?”

Johnny left his room and walked all the way to the living room, where his mother was sitting watching TV. At fourteen years, he was already very tall, but he still hadn’t fully grown into his limbs, which made him look a bit uncoordinated and gangly. His mother looked up and smiled, seeing him all dressed up.

“Are you ready to see your father?” She asked, patting the sofa next to him.

“You know he’s not gonna come,” Johnny muttered, taking the place next to her.

He couldn’t see it, but he could feel how his mother tensed up. He could easily imagine her severe rictus and displeased look. She looked at him like that a lot those days. Johnny knew he was right though, because she wasn’t denying it, and because it was already past five in the afternoon and his dad still wasn’t there to pick him up for the weekend. He was okay with that, though, he didn’t actually want to see him anyway.

“Could you take me to see my friends?” He asked. “We made plans.”

“Why would you make plans with them? You know your father is going to come for you!” She reprimanded him.

“He’s not!” He yelled, throwing his arms up. “He misses his ‘turn’ with me almost every single weekend. I want to go see my friends.”

“Then why don’t you spend the afternoon with me?” Her voice softened, and she grabbed Johnny’s hand. “You’ll see them at school anyway.”

“It’s not the same,” he turned his eyes, pulling his hand away. “And what would we even do together? We don’t even like the same things, just take me to see my friends.”

“I can’t take you today,” she took his hand again. “Let’s just stay at home and watch a movie or something.”

“Fine, I’ll go by myself!” He stood up, yanking his hand away.

“John Seo!” His mother yelled.

“Don’t call me that!” He retorted, turning around. “God, you’re so annoying.”

Johnny stormed out of his house in a rush, forgetting his phone and keys. He was angry. His mother was always prohibiting him all sorts of things, and it made his life so difficult. Moving to the neighborhood had been difficult enough. Their apartment was small and cramped, the classes sucked, and Johnny was still struggling to integrate into the new friend group. His father being an asshole didn’t help.

He didn’t quite understand why his mother was always so intent on denying him everything. It was like she was against fun. He didn’t want to be angry at her, but it was so hard when she refused to at least listen to him. The worst part was that he didn’t even know where he was heading to. He had made a scene, and for what?

Stopping in his tracks, he glanced around. The anger seeped from his body and he began feeling unsure. He knew where his friend lived, but didn’t know how to get there. Maybe he should head back to get his phone and call his friends. It was most definitely not the guilt of leaving his mother like that. He just didn’t want to get lost. 

The way back took him longer than he would have liked, because he hadn’t been paying attention while running away from home. Once he recognized the area he was in, he ran. The door was still unlocked, so he pushed it softly and tried not to make noise, to not claim his mother’s attention. However, it didn’t matter, because she was currently distracted with something else.

“Can’t you just come see him like you promised?” His mother asked, dropping one hand to her side. “He still needs you.” 

Johnny ceased taking off his shoes and sat at the entrance, listening in to the conversation. He knew he wasn’t supposed to do that, but he felt entitled to some answers about the man supposed to be his father. His mother sounded hurt and desperate, and he felt the guilt spill out of his chest into the rest of his being, because he had upset her before, and now she had to deal with his father.

“Then can you at least give me the money?” She asked, lower this time, defeated. “I know you’re still looking for a better job, but Johnny asked me today if I could take him with his friends, but if I do that we won’t have enough gas for the week and I have the money counted.”

He felt his heart constrict in his chest. That was not what he had expected. His mother had never once complained about struggling with money or about his father not paying them the amount he had promised at court. He knew they were trying to save a little by living in a smaller apartment, but he hadn’t realized the situation was that bad.

“What do you mean he shouldn’t go then?” She raised her voice. “He’s a teen, he needs his friends at this age!” He could hear her pace around the room. “No, it’s fine! We don’t fucking need you!”

The cellphone collided with their two-place sofa with a soft thud and his mother sighed. Johnny decided to leave his hiding. He took off his shoes and walked to the living room. His mother was sitting on the sofa with both hands covering her face. She looked so small and tired, and Johnny felt guilt crawling at his throat. 

“ _ Mom _ ,” Johnny spoke in Korean, his mother’s native tongue. He hadn’t used it in sometime, as a sort of rebellion for how things had been going between them.

“ _ Youngho-ya _ ,” she raised her head in alarm. “ _ Did you hear all that? _ ”

“ _ I’m sorry… _ ” he kneeled in front of her, grabbing her hands. There were tears in his eyes, but he didn’t want to cry. It was his mother who was hurting the most.

“ _ I imagine you didn’t make it to your friend’s house? _ ” She chuckled, but she was crying too.

“ _ I’m really sorry, really, _ ” he repeated, squeezing her hands.

“ _ I know, it’s okay, _ ” she squeezed his hands back and smiled. “ _ You’re at the right age for rebelling, I’m glad you were able to recognize it was wrong though. _ ”

“ _ Should we watch a movie together today? _ ” He didn’t care about meeting his friends anymore.

“ _ Let’s do that _ ,” she nodded, sniffling a little. “ _ What is that on your cheek? _ ”

“ _ My cheek? _ ” Johnny rubbed at his right cheek, but he didn’t feel anything.

“ _ Wait, let me look, _ ” she gently turned his face and let out a gasp. “ _ Your marks! _ ”

“ _ My marks? _ ” Johnny stood up and ran to the bathroom, where they had a mirror. He got there in time to see the small red panda and bunny hiding under his shirt. He turned around and hugged his mother tightly, knowing that her sacrifice was the reason behind those marks.

“ _ I love you _ ,” she whispered into his ear. He was already her height.

“ _ I love you too _ .”

* * *

Johnny woke up late and ended up rushing to the meeting room. The foreign students were having another conference about how the dorms worked and whatnot, and Johnny was supposed to be there to mentor his peers. He ran to the door and stopped right in front of it, taking a deep breath and making sure his clothes and hair were in order. Kun was in there, he needed to appear chill. 

He cleared his throat and walked into the room in silence, mindful of the other mentors in charge of that day’s meeting. Johnny spared one glance at the audience and instantly found Kun, who was looking at him. Kun smiled, and Johnny tripped over his own feet like a fool, almost falling to the ground. He caught himself right on time to avoid breaking his face, but the damage to his pride had been done.

“Are you okay?” One of his friends asked.

“Yeah…” Johnny nodded, but he could feel his skin burning with embarrassment. 

He looked up to find Kun covering his mouth as he took notes. It looked like he was trying hard not to laugh, but his shoulders betrayed him as they shook softly. Johnny smiled despite himself. Kun had seemed very serious at first, and Johnny had worried that they wouldn’t be able to get along. But the marks didn’t lie, and it seemed like Kun was slowly opening more; not only to him, but in general.

After the meeting ended, all of his group approached him. They exchanged a few words as they asked him questions they had about the system and whatnot. At some point, Kun sneaked next to him, and when he was done answering questions, he felt a tug on his shirt. Kun was looking at him expectantly, and with a small smile on his face.

“Let’s go eat together?” It was a question more than a suggestion, since they had agreed on nothing, but Johnny nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh? What is this?” Alex asked with a raised eyebrow, leaning into their space. Kun immediately let go of Johnny’s shirt, a little taken aback.

“Kun? You can’t go flirting with our mentor, I’m sure that’s illegal!” Junhui exclaimed, looking half like he was joking and half like he was scandalized.

“Actually-” Johnny didn’t get an opportunity to say much.

“He’s not a teacher Junhui, stop,” Kun rolled his eyes. “Besides-” Kun grabbed his arm where it was uncovered, and it didn’t take long for the others to open their eyes in surprise.

“You’re soulmates!” Yanan exclaimed, a big smile on his face.

“Now this is a surprise,” Handong chuckled, “when did you find out?”

“Like two days ago, actually,” Kun shrugged. Johnny was still looking at him, marveled at his tenacity. “So, should we eat together?” Kun asked again, this time looking back at Johnny.

“Yeah,” Johnny smiled, understanding that he wanted to get away from their friends’ teasing, “let’s go.”

Johnny ended up guiding him to a little restaurant that had homemade style meals. It was small but nice and outside of campus, which meant they were less likely to encounter the others. Kun wasn’t yet quite familiar with actual Korean meals, so Johnny did his best to choose a good variety from the menu so that he could try food to his heart content. Food was, after all, the way to a man’s heart (or something like that). 

“I was not expecting you to do that back there,” Johnny said as he observed food put a spoonful of kimchi jjigae in his mouth. The spice didn’t seem to bother him too much as he hummed in delight.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t stop to think if you wanted to show others about our marks,” Kun apologized as soon as he had swallowed his bite. “I should’ve asked you before.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind, actually,” Johnny shook his head. “To be fair, I thought it would be you who wouldn’t want to tell anyone.”

“Hyung, we’re trying to make this work, right?” Kun smiled. “Keeping it a secret is not the way. Besides… I don’t like being teased.”

“Note taken,” Johnny chuckled, digging into his own food.

The next day, on Friday, they also went out to eat together. Johnny promised to take him out during the weekend and show him Seoul, since they wouldn’t have any meetings to attend or activities to participate in. What they were doing was a surprise, but Kun guessed it would be related to water at the very least, because Johnny advised him to take swimming trunks with him.

When Saturday arrived, Kun met with Johnny outside of the university. They took a taxi to the Han River, and Kun very quickly understood why they were there. It was the middle of summer in Korea, and as it was very hot, water sports rose in popularity. He had never really tried any of those, but the idea seemed exciting to him. 

“This is a suggestion,” Johnny explained as they started walking down the river. Kun looked around, admiring the beauty of the place, “but I was thinking we could do wakeboarding, and whoever lasts less on the board pays for today’s meal.”

“Oh, you want to challenge me?” Kun chuckled, looking back at Johnny.

“I’m pretty sure I can win this one, actually,” Johnny smiled, softly pushing Kun with his shoulder. Neither missed the way his red panda tattoo reached towards Kun since he was wearing a sleeveless shirt, but Kun’s shoulders were covered.

“I’ll let you know that I’m pretty good at everything I do,” Kun scoffed. 

“Of course, Mr. Perfect,” Johnny’s smile widened, almost turning into a laugh.

“Have you tried this before?” 

“One time when I first came to Korea, but I haven’t since,” Johnny shrugged. “It’ll be fun.”

It did end up being quite fun, even though Kun lost by a few seconds. He then convinced Johnny to ride the banana boat with him. By the time they were done, they were completely drenched, but their chests were light with laughter. They sat together by the docks while they waited to dry off a little before going to get changed.

“Turn around,” Kun commanded as he took the towel off of Johnny’s hands. “You’re going to damage your hair if you continue rubbing it like that.”

Johnny turned around and closed his eyes as Kun gently dried his hair. It felt like a massage, and helped him relax. Even after he was done drying it, Kun continued carding his fingers through Johnny’s locks. He had wondered if his long hair was real, and was pleased to find that it was. His roots were starting to show through the blond dye, but it still looked good on him.

“I like your hair, it’s pretty,” Kun smiled, carding his fingers through one last time before sitting back down.

“Thank you,” Johnny turned around, also smiling. “I should probably dye it again soon.” Kun nodded.

After they finished drying and had changed back into their clothes, Johnny guided them back to a picnic area. He put down a blanket while Kun ordered the food. The oldest had insisted they get chicken, because apparently Korea had the best chicken in the world. Kun used the chance to order some more snacks he was curious to try out. They ended up with a blanket full of delicious food, which they somehow managed to finish.

They walked for a while, towards the Banpodaegyo bridge, because Johnny wanted to show him something. The sun began to set while they made their way there. As they came closer to it, a spectacle of music, lights and water started. The bridge lit up in a beautiful display, and Kun let out an exhilarated laugh. Johnny smiled and guided him to a spot where they could see the show better.

“This is really pretty!” Kun exclaimed, turning around to see Johnny staring at him.

It was a little weird, because it seemed like Johnny just  _ liked _ to look at people. Almost like he was able to learn all about them just by observing. Kun wasn’t sure he was worth being observed like that, but it made him feel a little flattered that Johnny wanted to know more about him, despite the circumstances in which they had found each other.

“Hey,” Johnny said, snapping Kun’s attention back. “Can I ask you a weird question?”

“Uh,” Kun frowned a little, “sure?”

“Can I like…” Johnny cleared his throat, “hold your hand for a moment?”

Kun opened his eyes in surprise before letting out a light laugh. He extended his arm towards Johnny, who grabbed his hand gently. Johnny’s eyes were trained on their tattoos, following them around their skin, marvelled by the sight. Kun looked too. It was a beautiful sight, one he had never thought he would get to see, because finding your soulmates could be hard.

“You don’t have to ask to hold my hand next time,” Kun said after a while, the water show long forgotten. “You can just take it, if you want.”

Johnny looked at him and smiled, squeezing his hand softly. They went back to walking shortly after, this time holding hands. It felt really comforting, despite how little they knew each other still. To Kun, having Johnny there was like an anchor; a sign that maybe he wasn’t making the wrong decision. To Johnny, it was a sliver of hope that maybe things wouldn’t go like they had with his parents. 

“Why did you come to Korea, Kun?” Johnny asked him as they made their way back so they could take a taxi. They hadn’t stopped holding hands.

“I’m not sure, actually?” Kun hummed. “I don’t know if I was looking for something, or maybe running away from something… I just kind of woke up one day thinking it would be a good idea, and now I’m here.”

“Hmm,” Johnny nodded, looking down at their linked hands.

“Why did you come here?” Kun asked in return, because he was curious. Johnny had mentioned he missed his mother once, but aside from that, he didn’t know much more.

“I suppose this is as good of a time as any to unlock my tragic past,” Johnny’s voice went dead serious, but then he smiled and broke into a laugh. “Don’t look at me like that, it was a joke.”

“A terrible one.” Kun clicked his tongue.

“I simply came because I wanted to know more about my mom’s culture. She’s from here, my dad is from America though,” Johnny shrugged. “I thought she would want to come with me, but she’s happy over there; and she’s gotten on better terms with my dad after the divorce.”

“I see,” Kun squeezed his hand softly. “Thanks for telling me.”

“Don’t mention it,” Johnny smiled. “Should we head home now?”

* * *

The weekend went by fast, and so did the following week. Between meetings and activities, Johnny and Kun found the time to go out and get to know each other better. Johnny showed him all that he knew about Seoul, and it was a lot of fun. It felt, simultaneously, like they had all the time in the world and like they were running out of it. 

The Friday of the second week, Kun found himself worrying. His flight back to China was the next day, but he still didn’t feel like he knew Johnny enough. He didn’t feel the certainty that he wanted to feel. Plus, there was the issue with his second tattoo, which he was still keeping a secret. 

He was so focused on his feelings, that he completely missed the end of the meeting. He didn’t realize it had ended until Johnny sat next to him and gave him a little nudge. Kun turned to look at him and smiled, putting everything back into his backpack. Finally, the long introductory course was over, but Kun felt like it hadn’t lasted long enough.

“Are you okay?” Johnny asked, looking a bit concerned.

“Yeah,” Kun nodded. “I want to talk to you about something though, let’s go outside.”

Johnny followed him suit to the grounds of the university. They walked a little until Kun found a comfortable bench and sat down, patting the place next to him until Johnny had sat as well. There were two concerns in his mind, but Kun couldn’t bring himself to talk about both of them when he saw Johnny’s worried expression. Instead, he chose the most urgent one.

“I have to go back tomorrow,” he explained. Johnny’s face dulled with realization. “Don’t look so sad, it’s just a few months until the semester starts anyway.”

“Yeah but-” Johnny clicked his tongue. “I completely forgot, I kind of got used to you being here.” He put his head on Kun’s shoulder and sighed.

“I did too, but again, it won’t be for long.” Kun patted his knee.

“Can’t you just stay here until the beginning of the semester?” Johnny asked, a tad hopeful.

“That is illegal, I’m pretty sure,” Kun chuckled. “Besides, I would like to spend some time with my parents before coming here for the next… four years, or so?”

“Fair enough,” Johnny conceded.

“I’ll tell you what, though,” Kun perked up, turning around to face Johnny. “I’ll cook for you tonight, I’ll make it special.”

“I’d love that!” Johnny immediately perked up as well, grabbing Kun’s hand unconsciously.

“Where can I cook, though?” Kun smiled, letting out a small laugh at Johnny’s enthusiasm.

“There’s a kitchen here in the dorms,” Johnny stood up, pulling him along.

“That’s not very romantic hyung,” Kun scrunched his nose, displeased with the idea.

“You’re not going to propose to me, Kun,” Johnny huffed, “we can just have fun.”

Kun ended up agreeing, and Johnny took him shopping for the ingredients. He wanted to try making both Chinese and Korean dishes, so he and Johnny made up a menu on his cellphone and bought everything that was needed. They ended up choosing three main dishes and a bunch of sides to accompany them, although Kun was almost certain he would end up cooking way too much. Especially because Johnny seemed way too excited about trying his food.

When they arrived at the dorm’s kitchen, they found it empty. It was nice, because that meant Kun could cook with ease. He put on an apron that Johnny had insisted on buying and then helped Johnny put on a matching one. Even though Kun had insisted that he could do everything on his own, Johnny wanted to assist him, so he ended up accepting.

Cooking was, in short, a little bit of a mess. Kun wasn’t used to the appliances, and Johnny was very confused when given instructions, but by the end of it they managed to not burn any dishes and have a table full of homemade food. Johnny was ecstatic, to say the least. Kun, instead, was nervous. He worried that his cooking skills wouldn’t be up to Johnny’s expectations. Of course, the worry was unwarranted.

“This is amazing,” Johnny let out a pleased sigh as he put the spoon in his mouth.

“Really?” Kun looked at Johnny with expectation.

“I’m serious, it’s so good,” Johnny chuckled. “Let me try this one next.”

They ate to their hearts’ content, and to Kun’s surprise, they ended up finishing almost everything. Johnny immediately offered to clean the dishes, but Kun insisted on helping him anyway, so they did it together. When they finished, Johnny walked Kun to his dorm room. It was kinda late, and they were both sleepy after having eaten that much, but they still fell into quiet chatter.

“Will you come to the airport to see me off?” Kun asked as they reached his door.

“Naturally, I don’t want your parents to think badly of me,” Johnny muttered. Kun laughed it off.

“See you tomorrow then,” Kun smiled.

“See you.”

* * *

The rolling of his suitcase numbed Kun’s hand as they headed over to the gate. His flight was boarding at that moment, and Johnny was following him like an anxious puppy until the last point where they could be together. Kun’s heart was divided in half. He was feeling a bit homesick, and wanted to get home to his parents and tell them everything that had happened in those two weeks. At the same time, he didn’t want to leave Johnny behind.

“I can’t go any further,” Johnny muttered, grabbing his hand.

Kun stopped walking and turned to look at him, letting out a little sigh. Johnny smiled. His eyes mirrored what Kun was feeling. Without saying a word, he opened his arms, and Johnny smiled excitedly as they shared a hug for the first time. An  _ actual _ hug, because they had held hands before and put an arm around each other’s shoulders. It was nice, and it made Kun feel certain that he was doing the right thing after all.

“I’ll see you in a few months,” he promised. Johnny nodded before letting him go.

* * *

The distance didn’t last them much, because they talked basically all day everyday. Kun’s parents often asked about Johnny, and he was more than happy to let them know what he was up to. They had even talked through a phone call once, with Kun serving as a translator. Johnny had also gotten creative with the virtual dates, finding all sorts of games and activities to do while they were apart.

They often had movie nights, and even cooked together sometimes while wearing the matching aprons they had gotten before. Johnny had even decided to go visit his mom, and introduced Kun to her. Those two weeks Johnny had spent back in America had been the most painful ones, because the time difference was a lot, but once he came back to Korea, it was easy to settle back into their routine.

**Johnny-hyung:** what are u doing?

**Kun:** studying Korean, why?

**Johnny-hyung:** your Korean is really good, don’t do that

**Kun:** what should I do instead, then?

Kun rolled onto his back with his phone on his hands, smiling to himself. He had taken to seriously studying Korean while he was at home, wanting to make sure that he wouldn’t be behind his peers once classes started at the university. Plus, it made communication with Johnny easier, without much use of an online translator.

**Johnny-hyung:** pay attention to me

**Kun:** that’s not nearly as productive

Not even a minute passed and Johnny was already calling. Kun let out a laugh as he answered the call, having known fully well that Johnny would do that. The oldest immediately complained, arguing that talking to him was far more productive because he could practice his Korean  _ and _ talk to his soulmate at the same time, which was a big advantage. Kun conceded, still laughing to himself.

They talked for a little while until the sun set, and Kun began to feel sleepy. He was about to ask for the call to end when Johnny’s tone changed. It immediately woke him up, feeling as if the air had turned heavy around him.

“Hey Kun…” Johnny cleared his throat. “There’s something I haven’t told you, and I wanted to be honest with you before, but I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Well,” Kun felt his heart drop inside his chest. “It’s okay, you can tell me.”

“Okay, right,” Johnny took a deep breath, before letting it out. “I have a second mark.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Let’s take a picture of our extra tattoo and send it at the same time,” Johnny suggested.
> 
> Kun’s heart began beating fast again. He had been so giddy about Johnny also having an extra mark that he had forgotten they might be different. Johnny knew this too, because otherwise he wouldn’t have been asking for proof. Kun nodded nonetheless. They were soulmates, weren’t things supposed to work out for them in the end?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is here! The final chapter of Puzzle! I hope everyone enjoys it <3 If you really liked this work, and want to know what's gonna happen after it, PLEASE read the notes at the end!

“Oh,” Kun felt the thundering in his chest diminish. 

It was like a bubble popping right in front of him, letting relief flood out from his chest. Johnny also had an extra mark. He had been worrying nonstop about it since finding out they were soulmates, but now he felt calmness fill him. He didn’t even know what to say.

“Oh? Kun?” Johnny’s nervous voice resonated through the speaker. “Are you mad? Are you disappointed?”

“Hyung, I have a mark too,” Kun let out a laugh, “and extra one, I mean.”

“Wait- Really?!” Johnny yelled, and Kun had to pull the cell phone away. “Hold on, are you serious right now?”

“Yeah!” Kun laughed again, giddy. “I’ve been worrying about it too, I was actually going to tell you before leaving, but I couldn’t bring myself to…”

“That’s okay, I couldn’t either,” Johnny sighed. “I have an idea, though.”

“I’m all ears,” Kun nodded enthusiastically.

“Let’s take a picture of our extra tattoo and send it at the same time,” Johnny suggested.

Kun’s heart began beating fast again. He had been so giddy about Johnny also having an extra mark that he had forgotten they might be different. Johnny knew this too, because otherwise he wouldn’t have been asking for proof. Kun nodded nonetheless. They were soulmates, weren’t things supposed to work out for them in the end?

He struggled to take a picture of his back, right between his shoulder blades, as his second tattoo liked to rest there. Kun ended up having to ask one of his parents for help, but eventually he had the picture in his camera roll and was ready to send it. He waited until Johnny was ready.

“Wait, wait-” Kun pulled the phone away and put Johnny on speaker before turning on his own camera.“Turn on your camera.”

Johnny was wearing a hoodie, and the hood was fully tightened around his face, making him look funny. Kun chuckled as he waved hello. Johnny waved back at him before taking a deep breath. They were both nervous, and it was quite easy to tell. After agreeing to do it at the count of three, they counted together and then pressed send.

The picture that greeted Kun was not the American kestrel he had been expecting. Instead, there was a gray bunny. Dread filled his stomach as he looked up. Johnny looked just as shocked as he felt. Kun smiled and tried to shake it off. They didn’t have the same mark, but that didn’t have to  _ mean _ anything. Still, it felt… disappointing.

“B-But-” Johnny stuttered, but the words died in his throat.

“Hey, it’s okay, right?” Kun tried to remain optimistic, but he couldn’t hide the strangeness he felt in his chest.

“Kun, I-” Johnny scrambled for the words, but he didn’t know what to say, and frankly, neither did Kun.

“It’s okay,” Kun assured him. “It’s quite late, maybe we should sleep on this and talk about it tomorrow?”

He felt all of the exhaustion from before wash over him again. Suddenly, all he wanted was to go sleep and ignore whatever ugly feelings were pooling in his chest. He disliked seeing Johnny so affected and thrown off, especially when he was always so cool and in control of himself.

“Are you sure?” Johnny asked, looking back and forth between the pictures they had just sent.

“Positive,” Kun did his best to smile, “I think we both need it.”

They wished each other a good night before hanging up. Kun didn’t know how exactly he felt, but it wasn’t as positive as he would have liked. He didn’t want to think about it though, so instead he forced himself to fall asleep, convinced that they would solve it the next day.

* * *

Johnny was absentmindedly staring at this phone when he accidentally dropped it on his face. He yelped, bringing his hands up to rub at his poor nose. He had woken up at some point in the early morning and had abandoned all hopes for sleep. His dreams had been plagued by bunnies and birds and bunnies turning into birds. He was not feeling okay.

He grabbed his phone again and looked at the picture Kun had taken. After some research, he had figured out it was an American kestrel. It was so pretty and colorful and small. They both had small creatures as their other soulmates… Johnny sighed. He still couldn’t believe they didn’t have a shared tattoo. He had always known it could be a possibility, but he had hoped it wouldn’t be.

Soulmate relationships, and relationships in general, were always more complicated than simply sharing or not the same tattoos. Of course, it was easy if you only had one tattoo, and your soulmate also had only one, if you could manage to find them to begin with. But when there was more than one mark…

What if he found his other soulmate and they didn’t like Kun? What if Kun found his other soulmate and they didn’t like him? Johnny didn’t want to be forced into choosing, and he could never even imagine doing that to Kun either. But he was getting ahead of himself, what if that didn’t happen at all?

He sighed and put his phone away. His mental state was not in the right place to be talking to Kun at the moment. He needed to clear his mind and figure out where his feelings stood. Johnny decided to go and visit his friends. If anything could help him, was most definitely the opinion of those three crackheads. It would probably be wise to call them first, though.

“Hello Johnny,” Seungcheol picked up Jeonghan’s cellphone.

“Oh, Cheol?” Johnny smiled, closing the door to his dorm behind him. “Is Jeonghan asleep still?”

“You know him,” Seungcheol scoffed, “but also, you’re calling unbearably early, what’s up?”

“Would you mind housing a poor, lost soul?” Johnny left the dorms and walked down the campus to the bus stop.

“Did they already evict you?” Seungcheol sounded genuinely surprised, which just threw Johnny off.

“What do you mean already?!” He yelled, lowering his voice when he noticed someone glaring at him. “You three are so mean to me…”

“Just come already, I’ll leave the door unlocked,” Seungcheol laughed before hanging up.

Johnny made his way to their apartment while listening to music. He was listening to a few Chinese artists that Kun had recommended to him, but doing so made him miss his voice. It felt a bit silly, though, because he had just talked to him the previous night. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to call him, not yet.

Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Jisoo lived in an apartment close to campus. It was cozy and not very big, since the three of them were usually very clingy and liked to spend time with each other. Johnny kind of admired them for it, because their personalities could be quite contrasting, and he wasn’t certain how they had built their relationship around their situation. Maybe that was the reason he was there, they could give him advice.

Jisoo opened the door for him and greeted him with a handshake. He immediately offered him something to drink as they headed to their living room, catching up on what they had done during recess. Seungcheol joined them later, with a sleepy Jeonghan following right after him and complaining that they had woken him up.

“Okay, spill,” Jisoo pointed after a while, “why are you here?”

“Can’t I just visit my friends for pleasure?” Johnny pouted.

“The only thing you’ve done in the past month or so is have virtual dates with Kun,” Jeonghan pointed out, “so no, I don’t think you’re here for pleasure.”

“Did something happen with Kun?” Seungcheol asked. He was leaning back, one arm propped behind Jisoo.

“Why are the three of you so perceptive…” Johnny sighed. “I showed him my extra mark. He also had one…”

“Isn’t that good, then? I don’t get it.” Seungcheol frowned.

“It’s not the same mark,” Jeonghan immediately guessed. “That’s why our Johnnyboy is looking so gloomy right now.”

“It really isn’t,” Johnny grumbled, “I’m pretty sure that in the wild, his mark could potentially eat mine.”

The other three couldn’t help but break into a laugh, which only made Johnny pout harder. He was there to receive some attention and love, not to be laughed at because of his unfortunate situation.

“Yours is a bunny, right?” Jisoo asked, leaning forward. “What is his?”

“A sparrowhawk,” Johnny sighed. “How did the three of you make it work? Jeonghan and Jisoo don’t have marks for each other, right?”

“We don’t,” Jeonghan agreed “but marks aren’t a limitation for love, Johnny.”

“They are guides,” Jisoo agreed. “I mean, Seungcheol really, really disliked us in the beginning.”

“You were- are, brats, truly,” Seungcheol grumbled. “But it’s true, my marks for them indicate I was meant to fall in love with them, but they didn’t have that type of attachment, and yet… here we are.”

“Jeonghan is as much of a soulmate to me as is Seungcheol,” Jisoo smiled. “I’m certain you can make it work too, even though it’s a bigger number of people.”

“Just trust what you have Johnny,” Jeonghan nodded. “I know you’ll be able to work things out if it comes down to it.”

“I feel like you have more faith in me than I do…” Johnny sighed, leaning back into the sofa.

* * *

A week passed without either of them attempting to call the other. They still messaged everyday, mostly in the mornings and evenings, but both could tell it wasn’t the same. It bothered Kun a lot. His mind felt confused and fuzzy, and the safety he had felt during his second week in Korea had already vanished. Of course, he wasn’t the only one to notice things were off.

“Kun, can I come in?” His dad knocked softly on the door.

“Of course,” he nodded, putting his cellphone with the bunny picture away. “What’s wrong?” He asked once the door opened.

“That’s what I would like to ask you,” his dad smiled, sitting at the border of his bed. “Is everything alright with your soulmate?”

Kun sighed. He had known that at some point his parents would come to ask, because Johnny hadn’t said hi to them in a while, and they really liked him. He didn’t blame them, though, even he could tell that he was acting different due to the worry and stress the situation was putting on him. If there was anyone who could provide him with answers though, were his parents.

“Johnny and I have extra soulmate marks, but they’re different…” Kun explained, looking at this lap. “I have a bird, he has a bunny.”

“That sounds cute,” his dad smiled. “Must be a nice person.”

“You’re missing the point here…” Kun grumbled, twiddling his fingers.

“Am I?” His dad tilted his head. “I don’t think so, truly. You see, wouldn’t it be great if both of Johnny’s soulmates turn out to be great people?”

“And what about me?” Kun muttered.

“Oh, but you’re not worried about yourself, I know you well,” his dad chuckled.

“I don’t like this conversation, where’s papa? He would side with me.” Kun groaned, crossing his arms, making his dad laugh.

“He’s out at work, but you see, we’re a good example of why you shouldn’t be worried!” His dad crawled over the bed until he was sitting next to him, wrapping his arms around Kun. “You remember your dad and I aren’t soulmates, right?”

“I do, but you don’t really talk about it…” Kun muttered. “You never found your soulmate, and his already passed away.”

“That’s right,” his dad nodded. “I met his soulmate, actually, she was a beautiful woman. Your dad loved us both very much. She passed away long before we adopted you.”

“I didn’t know you had met her,” Kun’s eyes widened. “How…”

“The thing is, Kun, that even though we’re destined to love some people, it doesn’t mean we can’t choose who to love,” his dad shrugged. “Destiny is not an excuse. If you meet your other soulmate, you’ll love them as much as you love Johnny, and so will Johnny if he meets his other soulmate…”

“But?” Kun leaned forward.

“But love makes things work out,” his dad smiled. “Neither of you might ever meet your other mark. And if you do, it might even be that they are soulmates to each other, and you could go on a lot of double dates.”

“So you think it will work out,” he let out a deep exhale.

“I know it will,” his dad nodded, pushing Kun’s hair back. “But you two need to stop punishing each other first, your hearts crave for each other, and self-inflicted pain is not the way to go.”

“I have one more question though,” Kun muttered. “If you met your soulmate now… What would you do?”

“I would introduce them to your father, and we would work from there,” he patted Kun’s hands. “Not everything in life has to be a dramatic challenge, although you’re barely about to reach your twenties so I guess it makes sense you feel like this.”

“Are you calling me dramatic?” Kun frowned, pushing his dad softly.

“I am not not calling you dramatic,” his dad smiled, pushing him back. “Just don’t overthink it, alright? I’m gonna go prepare supper.”

Kun grabbed his phone again and stared at it as his finger hovered over the call button. He had put a picture of his Clydesdale tattoo as Johnny’s picture, and looking at it made his heart swell. He didn’t get to press the button, though, because Johnny called him first, causing him to yelp out of surprise. He answered and put him on speaker.

“Johnny?” He asked, unsure.

“Hey,” Johnny sounded a bit breathless. “So I’ve decided I don’t like this thing where we don’t talk.”

“Are you okay?” Kun asked, a bit concerned about how he sounded.

“Huh?” Johnny took a deep breath. “Oh yeah, I’m just running, to uh… You know, clear the mind?”

“Is it working?” Kun chuckled. It felt nice to talk to him again, it helped him breathe easier.

“Not really, no,” Johnny laughed too. “But Kun, I really didn’t like not talking to you this past week.”

“I didn’t like it either,” Kun sighed. “I was actually just talking to my dad about it.”

“What did he say?” Johnny slowed down, and decided to walk instead, trying to not breathe so hard into the microphone.

“In summary, that we should stop being so dramatic,” he grumbled, but Johnny let out a breathy laugh.

“I think he’s right, actually,” Johnny cleared his throat. “We don’t know if we’ll meet our other marks, why don’t we enjoy what we have now?”

“I agree,” Kun nodded. “I missed talking to you.”

“I did too,” Johnny’s smile could be felt through his voice, and it made Kun smile as well.

“I might also be falling in love with you,” Kun confessed. It made his heart skip a beat, but it was nothing compared to the reaction it produced on Johnny.

“You can’t do this to me Kun,” Johnny groaned. “You’re usually more reserved about your affection, what is this?”

“I will hang up on you,” Kun threatened, not liking that Johnny was teasing him.

“I’m sorry, I’ll shut up,” Johnny added quickly. “I’m also falling in love with you, quite quickly I should add.”

“Idiot,” Kun scoffed, but he was smiling. 

“I’ll take it as a show of affection,” Johnny laughed. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“I can’t wait either.”

* * *

Johnny glanced at his phone one more time. He was sitting at one of those uncomfortable metal airport chairs, bouncing his leg nonstop. Kun’s flight had been delayed, so he had already been there for a few hours, and he was feeling very impatient. Kun had agreed to arrive a week before classes started so that they could spend time together, catch up, and finally talk face to face about their tattoos. However, they had already lost a full day and the sun was starting to set. He simply wanted to see his soulmate.

He looked up at the announcement chart and jumped to his feet when he saw that the plane had just arrived. Without thinking twice, Johnny headed towards the marked gate, nearly running. He stopped with the other people waiting for their loved ones to arrive, and gripped his cell phone tightly in his hand, waiting for a sign.

Kun crossed the gates with two suitcases behind him, looking around with expectation. He almost tripped over himself when he saw Johnny, standing behind other people and looking like he wanted to push them out of the way (he didn’t). He walked as fast as the suitcases let him, and Johnny met him halfway, embracing him in a hug that almost threw them both to the ground.

“Wait wait wait-” Kun laughed, trying to keep them from tipping over. One of his suitcases had fallen to the ground, but the other one still stood next to him.

“I missed you so much!” Johnny exclaimed, still holding him close.

“I missed you too but we’re in the way!” Kun complained, although he still wrapped his arms around Johnny’s middle.

“Okay, okay, let’s get out of the way,” Johnny chuckled, grabbing the fallen suitcase and pulling both it and Kun along with him.

“How long have you been here?” Kun asked, noticing Johnny’s unruly hair.

“Way before you told me your flight was delayed,” Johnny replied sheepishly. “I took a shower in the morning and then came straight here.”

“Don’t do that,” Kun shook his head. “You could’ve slept more.”

“I was excited to see you! What do you want me to say?” Johnny pouted. Kun let out a laugh and grabbed his empty hand, entwining their fingers.

“Can we drop these off and then go eat?” Kun gestured at his luggage. “I’m starving.”

“Of course, let’s go.” 

They didn’t stay more than five minutes in the dorms as they dropped everything off and then went to have dinner together. They had both been up since very early in the morning, and the time they had spent in the airports (and flight), waiting, had made them both incredibly hungry. Johnny took them back to the little restaurant they had gone to together in one of their first dates, and ate until they were sated.

Since they were close to campus, they made their way back by walking. Johnny didn’t waste time before holding Kun’s hand, still marveling at the fact that he could finally touch him again after the few months they had spent away from each other. He listened to Kun’s story about his short trip with undivided attention, almost managing to trip twice because he was too busy staring at him.

When they arrived at the door of his room, Kun pulled him along, as if it was the normal thing for them. His luggage was neatly tucked in the corner of the room. They sat down on what Kun had claimed as his bed. He was going to have a roommate, but he didn’t know who it was yet, but he hoped it was either Junhui or Yanan, as he already knew them.

“Johnny can I ask you for a very big favor?” Kun said after a little while, looking at their interlocked fingers.

“Of course,” Johnny nodded.

“Can I look at your tattoo? The bunny one.”

The request surprised Johnny. They had talked a little more about their extra tattoos over the days, but they hadn’t actually tried to look at them again or made serious discussion about it. He wondered what Kun was thinking of, but he knew this was not something he had thought about lightly. He had probably spent the whole flight thinking about it.

“Of course,” Johnny agreed after thinking it over. He stood up and lifted his shirt just enough to show the area of the ribs.

Kun stood up right after him and crouched just enough that the rabbit tattoo was at eye level. That soulmark was small, and gray, and it always liked to nest right in that spot. Johnny didn’t see it often, so it was a little strange to have someone else look at it. He felt the tips of Kun’s fingers gently trace over it, and it made him shudder a little. Kun’s eyes were so focused on the mark, and Johnny suddenly felt a very strong urge to just…

“Kun can I kiss you?” The words were out of his mouth before he had even thought them out. 

“What?” Kun stopped right where he was standing.

He looked at Johnny with a frown and Johnny pulled his shirt down, suddenly feeling very exposed. He was a bit embarrassed that those words had come out of his mouth, but he didn’t regret them. He had wanted to kiss Kun for a long time now, after all. Kun’s frown slowly transformed into a smile. He grabbed Johnny’s face with both hands and reached up to kiss him.

It took his brain a second to process that Kun was kissing him, but his body was thankfully not as slow. His eyes closed and he placed one hand tentatively on Kun’s middle, leaning into the kiss. The kiss was very soft, but it still made butterflies bloom in his stomach and break havoc inside. He felt Kun smile into the kiss, and he couldn’t help but smile too, their noses accidentally bumping into each other.

“I really missed you so much!” Kun exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Johnny’s neck.

“I missed you too,” Johnny agreed, still surprised at Kun’s boldness.

“Stay the night.”

“W-What?” Johnny stuttered, once again shocked beyond words.

“Just stay here, for tonight,” Kun laughed, “please.”

It was kinda hard, but they managed to cuddle together on Kun’s bed. It was warm, which was probably not ideal in the late summer weather, but it felt nice to finally be together again. They hadn’t even been separated for that long, but a lot had happened in that time. They deserved this, at least.

“Why did you want to look at my tattoo?” Johnny asked.

“Dad said that a bunny must mean you’ve got a very nice soulmate, or something like that,” Kun shrugged. “I was curious.”

“Are you worried about it?” Johnny turned his body just slightly to be able to look at him.”

“Not really,” Kun smiled. “Dad said that love finds the answers eventually. Let’s put it this way: we’re like a four piece puzzle, and we’re missing a couple of them.”

“And what will happen when we find them?” Johnny still didn’t fully understand, it made him a little anxious.

“When we do,” Kun leaned closer to peck the corner of his lips, and grabbed his hands tightly, offering comfort. “We’ll put the pieces where they go, and once we see how nicely they fit, we’ll make things work out.” He smiled. 

“You promise?” Johnny asked. He had seen things not work before, but Kun sounded so certain, and he wanted to believe him.

“I promise.” Kun nodded, and Johnny chose to believe him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the end of Puzzle but it is, most definitely, not the end of Johnny and Kun <3 I am going to be working on a Leedo x Seoho mini series now, but after that I don't know what I want to work in next for Ink Prints, so please help me by voting on [ this poll ](https://twitter.com/soft_bluenicorn/status/1360322737978368002?s=20) which closes some time tomorrow I believe.
> 
> Thanks for reading this work and I hope you loved it as much as I did!

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this work, remember to leave a comment and give kudos, it keeps me going! And don’t hesitate to talk to me through my social media! I love making friends!  
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